In 1908, just five years after their first successful powered flight, the Wright brothers held a public demonstration of their new technology. While most were amazed and thrilled, a writer from England was not as impressed. In his article, he wrote, “Airplanes will never surpass airships (blimps)”. Then he pointed out the many ways this new technology was inferior to the old one.
First, airplanes needed runways while airships did not. Next, most airships could carry fifty to one hundred people while the Wright brother’s craft could transport only one. On top of that, airships could hover in one place making them useful for military observations and therefore, in the writer’s mind, making the airplane a non-factor in wartime. Lastly, blimps could fly higher and were easier to control. Thus, the writer concluded that, while heavier-than-air flying machines were interesting, they were impractical and nothing more than a passing novelty.
Change is hard! It is difficult to see past what something is and visualize what it could be. That is true of people too. It takes insight to see the potential in others and us.
The key, though, is to be teachable. To be open to new ideas and new ways of doing things. If we are unable to adapt, we will miss some of our best blessings.
It has been said, “If you only do what you have always done, you will only get what you have always got!”
Maybe it is time to seek some other paths.
“For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding” (Proverbs 2:6).
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